When Travel Doesn't Quite Work Out

Until now, I've never really had a travel experience that didn't quite work.

Sure, Camp America was hard work, but I completed the season 

as a counsellor with great pride, and loved my two weeks of travelling after camp. 

I've enjoyed all my family holiday's in Europe...my teaching in Slovenia and Thailand.

In fact, Thailand was my inspiration for returning to South East Asia.

I remember every day being a Good Day- I also remember thinking, 

how has every day of this trip been so amazing?

Over the last couple of days, I've been scrolling through blogs about 

what happens to travellers who have 'bad experiences'- 

I've also seen travel bloggers on instagram ask fellow travellers, 

'What's the one country you didn't like, but everyone else loved?'

 (Check out travel blogger the WanderingQuinn) 

This question really struck me as to what I've been feeling recently 

since returning to the UK from Vietnam. 

Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't ALL bad. 

In fact, I've had some amazingly positive experiences from this particular expedition. 

I loved the teaching, I loved the children I taught, 

I loved the Vietnamese people...the country itself is beautiful.

I made some lovely friends.

 So why is it that I'm feeling so many mixed emotions?

1) Maybe the climate.

If you think NYC is hot- think again. 

Vietnam has probably been the most tropical climate I've experienced, and my body temperature couldn't cope.

Ha Tinh, where I lived, was relatively OK. 

Though I was cold at 19 degrees celsius!

Ho Chi Minh, the big city in the south, was 32 degrees, or more, 

and it's like that all year round. I think my body went woah- what's this??

2) The food. 

Every backpacker I met in all the hostels I stayed in, 

all said they loved the Vietnamese food. 

I've definitely made an effort in trying it all- 

seafood, hotpots, noodle soups, ban xaeo, banh mhi-

mixao anchay- you name it, I've (hopefully) tried it. 

However- for some reason, it didn't suit me. 

Recently I've been wondering whether I lost my taste and smell due to all my illnesses 

(I'll get to that) but I just wasn't with it. I have eating issues as it is- 

I thought I was fussy before this trip, but in Vietnam, I basically became vegetarian. 

3) The mode of transport-motorbikes!

I don't drive in the UK. 

I can't even ride a bicycle due to falling off one when I was younger. 

Though I did have some great rides, 

and actually enjoyed being on the back-I had a great ride in Ho Chi Minh, 

going from District 1 all the way to District 3, with the wind whipping through my hair! 

4) The final and most important- my health. 

You may have seen my previous blog post on my experiences with culture shock. 

Now, there comes to a point, I've decided, 

where culture shock isn't culture shock any more. 

I probably had every illness you could come across. 

I was in and out of hospital, nobody could figure out what was wrong. 

My poor housemates, Dan and Frances, spent their time running around after me 

(I'm sorry guys!) which made me feel awful. 

Recently, I've wondered whether I went down with the dreaded coronavirus. 

It just seems to fit perfectly- 

most people I spoke to suggested it was something psychological

rather than physical. But I was absolutely certain it was physical- 

so this just seems to make sense. 

In the end, I had to come home- much earlier than planned. 

So how does one get over something that didn't quite work out for them?

I still want to teach English, that's for certain. 

I'm now working online from home, as most of us are- 

so what I can take from this trip as teaching experience, 

which has suddenly given me a professional life I might not have otherwise had before. 

We learn and grow as human beings. We have bad days and good days, and the good days wouldn't be good if we didn't have the bad. 

Vietnam is beautiful, and I want to thank everyone 

I met along the way- my boss, my Teaching Assistants, 

my housemates, my taxi drivers who ferried me around. 

Anyone who took me to hospital or ran to the pharmacy to order me medicine. 

The staff in all the hostels I stayed in, helping me on the days where I felt really poorly.

I am sure in the future I will return to Vietnam, but right now, 

somehow I need to fully recover my health (I'm almost there!) and 

pick up some confidence again in the idea of going back to Asia. 

It's enabled me to grow as a person and made me realise that 

maybe I push myself too hard- 

my health isn't the same as everyone else's, and I need to accept this. 

If you've had any similar experiences, please feel free to get in touch-

I'd be really interested to hear your stories. 

Thanks for reading, I'll see you next time! x